Due to their widespread use, absorbent articles are often produced on high speed production lines. These production lines often include many different processes or stages. These stages are often linked together to increase overall manufacturing efficiency. In general, the stages utilize continuous webs of fabrics, films, foams, elastomerics, etc., in order to create an absorbent article. However, defects in the continuous web can cause significant problems in the production line.
Defects in a continuous web can cause equipment downtime. A defective portion of a continuous web can be removed before the defective portion of the web is further processed in a downstream stage. However, in order to remove the defective portion of the continuous web, the entire production line often may have to be shut down. Unfortunately, the shutting down of the production line can cause a significant loss of production time.
Another ramification of shutting down the production line is that operating personnel may need to be adjusted to insure a smooth startup. For example, equipment in a particular stage may require a lengthy startup period. In general, equipment in upstream or downstream stages cannot begin processing the continuous web until the startup period for the process equipment in the particular stage is completed. The monitoring of equipment in various stages to ensure smooth startup of the production line may require more operating personnel or may require shifting existing operating personnel. The addition of operating personnel can be costly, and shifting existing operating personnel from other areas may cause problems in the areas left unattended. Thus, the shutting down of a stage or multiple stages can be costly to a manufacturer.
Alternatively, the defective portion may be processed instead of removed. However, if the defective portion is not removed, then a number of finished products, e.g. absorbent articles, may be impacted. In general, the absorbent articles containing a part of the defective portion of the continuous web are disposed of because of the defect. The number of absorbent articles affected by the defective portion, which subsequently must be disposed of, can be quite large if the defective portion of the continuous web spans over a significant length of the continuous web. Also, any subsequent materials added to the defective portion of the web are often disposed of because of a lack of means to recapture those subsequent materials. Therefore, over a short period of time, the number of absorbent articles disposed of could add up to a significant amount.
Consequently, a need exists for an apparatus that reduces the downtime experienced by a production line caused by a defective portion of a continuous web. Also, a need exists for an apparatus which can minimize the impact of varying startup times on overall production. In addition, a need also exists for an apparatus that can reduce the number of finished products impacted by a part of the defective portion of a continuous web when the defective portion spans over a significant length of the continuous web.